Headband and cord sets for earphones



March 28, 1967 R. A. KNUEBEL 3,311,713

HEADBAND AND CORD SETS FOR EARPHONES Filed July 5, 1963 5 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR.

RONALD A. KNUEBEL ATTOR NE7 Mairch 28, 1967 R. A. KNUEBEL HEADBAND ANDCORD SETS FOR EARPHONES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 5, 1963 IN VEN TOR.RONALD A. KNUEBE L TTORNE:

March 28, 1967 R. A. KNUEBEL HEADBAND AND CORD SETS FOR EARPHONES 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 5 1963 INVENTOR. RONALD A. K NUEBEL fTTORNEYUnited States Patent 3,311,713 HEADBAND AND CORD SETS FOR EARPHONESRonald A. Knuebel, Ashtahula, Ohio, assignor to The Astatic Corporation,Conrreaut, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed July 3, 1963, Ser. No.292,565 10 Claims. (Cl. 179-156) This invention has to do with thereproduction of audio signals in general and more particularly withimprovement in the mechanical structure of headbands and cord sets foruse with earphones.

Earphones have been known and used almost since the inception oftelephonic communication. The need for continued, long-time, use oftelephonic or radio equipment by professional telephone or radiooperators has indicated the wide use of telephone receivers or earphoneswhich are supported on the head of the user. Before the advent of modernelectronic amplifiers, headphones were commonly used by radio listenersfor general entertainment, but this need has been supplanted by todayshigh fidelity audio equipment.

There are two new market areas where earphones are currently enjoying areturn to popularity. The first of these is in the audio-visual andlanguage laboratory divisions of our educational systems, the second isin the home entertainment field where the reproduction of stereophonicprogram material, either from stereo phonograph recordings or from FMmultiplex broadcasts, is proving to be quite enjoyable.

It is toward providing new and improved earphones for use in these twonew fields particularly, that the present invention is directed. Theprecise requirements of the two uses are considerably different but bothcan be met by the device of the present invention.

In the language laboratory it is essential that the earphones suppliedto each student shall be rugged and as nearly indestructible aspossible. They shall not be subject to damage through unauthorizedtampering by inquisitive juveniles. They must be comfortable since theyare likely to be used for protracted periods. They must be adaptable toservice either with or without accessory microphones for the studentsuse in asking or answering questions and in the recording of spokenlessons. They must be as nearly sanitary as possible and/ or must becapable of easy disinfecting since they are used successively bydifferent groups of students. Since a complement of sets of earphonesfor several classrooms represents a sizeable investment, they must bereadily adaptable to disassembly, repair and servicing by authorizedschool personnel. Further, they should be capable of alteration fromtime-totime if it is found desirable to add microphones to sets of plainearphones, for example. This further increases the utility andadaptability of the headphones.

For use in home service by the audiophile, the requirements are somewhatdifierent. The use of earphones for listening to stereo music programsnecessitates the independent feeding of separate signals to each earpiece.

The use of a microphone is not indicated. The radio amateur, on theother hand, will prefer to use a microphone on his earphones and willprobably not be interested in stereo feed to his receivers since hisincoming signal is usually on a single channel.

It is a prime object of the present invention to provide a new andimproved assembly of headband and cord sets for earphones which permitswide adaptation to meet varying needs in different areas of use.

It is a further object to provide a headband and cord assembly whichwill be substantially tamper-proof.

3,311,113 Patented Mar. 28, 1967 A still further object is the provisionof a headband and cord assembly for earphones which may be alteredsimply and without the use of special soldering and connectingtechniques.

Yet another object is the provision of means for improving the utilityof headband and cord set assemblies by means of readily adaptableaccessory additions which are to be added to a basic assembly asdesired.

It is obviously possible to provide a headset having only one earphoneinstead of two, where economy is governing.

These and other objects and advantages will be apparent uponconsideration of the following specification and drawing wherein thereare disclosed certain preferred embodiments of the present invention.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation of the basic headband and of one genus of thecord set of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary elevation of the headband of FIGURE 1 with amicrophone added and with a second genus of cord set installed;

FIGURE 3 is an elevation, partly broken away, of the headband of theinvention;

FIGURE 4 is a top elevation of the headband of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the headband ofFIGURE 3;

FIGURE 6 is a composite sectional view taken at the line VI--VI ofFIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is an exploded fragmentary view of the cord set of FIGURE 1;and

FIGURE 8 is an exploded fragmentary view of the cord set of FIGURE 2.

Referring to the drawing more in detail, and initially to FIGURES 1 and2, the reference numeral 10 is used to indicate in general the headbandof the invention. As shown, the headband 10 is generally U-sha ed andcarries a cushion assembly 3% at its mid-portion. A cord set 50 isattached to cushion assembly '30 and a pair of earphones 70 and 79 aresupported on the headband 10 near the opposite lower ends thereof. Whenarranged in this manner the complete assembly is adapt-able to being putover the head of a user, with the cushion assembly 30 bearing on top ofthe head, the earphones 7t} and 70' resting against the respective rightand left ear, and the depending part of cord set 5i lying down over theleft shoulder of the user.

The modification of the headset of the invention illustrated in FIGURE 2is substantially like that of FIGURE 1 except that a boom-typemicrophone 9% is attached to the earphone 70' and the cord set 60 hasbeen substituted in place of cord set 50 of FIGURE 1.

When the assembly of FIGURE 2 is fitted ona user in the manner describedabove, the microphone will extend forwardly to a position near the usersmouth. Whether either assembly is worn as described or in anopposite-handed fashion obviously is a matter of personal choice.

The basic headband and cushion assembly of the invention is used in thecomplete headphones of both FIG- URES 1 and 2. The details of itsstructure are best illustrated in FIGURES 3 thru 6, to which attentionis now directed.

The headband 16 of the assembly is made up of two identical die-formedmetal arms 11 and 12, the former of which is shown complete. Arm 11 isfabricated ideally from a length of flattened metal band. It is bentinto a generally U-shaped form as shown in FIGURE 5 with two straightreaches 11 and 11" lying parallel to each other and separated by astraight reach 13. The formed arm 11 is next curved in the direction ofits wider dimension, into a Cshaped form as shown in FIGURE 3.

Near the upper ends of both reaches 11' and 11", edge notches 14 arepierced out of the outer edge of the metal band from which the arm 11 isformed. Arm 12, as noted above, is identical to arm 11 and in thecomplete headphone assembly is positioned with its open ends confrontingand aligned with those of arm 11 as best seen 'in FIGURE 4.

The cushion assembly 3%) comprises three parts, the main band 31, thecover 32 and the cushion 33. Main hand 31 is a gently curved molding ofany suitable medium-hard plastic material, such as polypropylene orpolyethylene, for example. Band 31 has a generally flat web 34 borderedalong its two major edges by upstanding flanges 35. An outwardlyextending tapered tongue 36 is formed at each end of web 34 as anextension thereof. A raised anchor block 37 is formed at the center ofweb 34 and standing up from the fiat top surface thereof. The two outersides of anchor block 37 have longitudinal grooves 38 formed therein andvertical grooves 39 extend vertically and intersect grooves 38. Acentral channel 49 extends longitudinally completely across the top ofblock 37. A pair of upstanding cylindrical pins 41 are provided nearboth ends of web 34 at a point about opposite the ends of flanges 35 andnear the base of tongue 36.

The cover 32 of cushion assembly is a smoothly curving inverted channelof molded plastic material, preferably of about the same hardness andstrength as main band 31. The depending flanges 42 of cover 32 each havea groove 43 formed at their lower edges to accommodate the flanges ofmain band 31. An inturned lip 44 borders each lower edge of flange 42and, at assembly, this serves to keep cover 32 secured to main band 31,due to the inherent resilience of the material from which both are made.

The cushion 33 is a smoothly finished rectangular pad of foamedelastomeric material. All of its exposed lower corners are generouslyradiused as at 33. For sanitary reasons, cushion 33 is desirably coveredwith a selfskin, i.e., an impervious outer layer; which admits of readycleaning or disinfecting. Cushion 33 is adhered to the smooth undersideof main band 31.

An anchor clip 45 is provided to frictionally snap down over anchorblock 37 and its depending legs 45 of which there are four, are receivedin vertical grooves 39 where they secure the end notches 14 of arms 11and 12 respectively.

Attention is now directed to FIGURES 7 and 8 for consideration ofalternative cord set arrangements, both to be used with the headbandassembly described above. In FIGURE 7, the cord set assembly is providedfor use in headsets without microphones. The cord set 50 is fabricatedor made-up from two-wire, two-shield cable which is made with a singlewebbed jacket extruded over the conductors. The web between theconductors can be ripped apart, separating the two conductors butleaving the insulation and shielding of each intact as at 50'.

The lower ends of the separated condutcors 51 and 52 are each servicedby cutting back the outer insulation 53. The shielding braid 54 is nextfrayed out and twisted together to one side at 55. The inner insulation56 continues to separate the shield 54 from the inner wire 57. Thetwisted shield end and the inner wire 57 comprise points for makingelectrical contact to these elements of conductor 51 and the points 55'and 57 comprise similar points in the conductor 52.

The main portion of conductors 51 and 52 are left webbed together andare extended a suitable length to the headset. Near the pins 41, theconductors 51 and 52 are again ripped apart and the latter (conductor52) is looped around both of the pins 41 and returned to lay parallel tothe original pair 51-52. A suitable thinwalled plastic sleeve 58 isslipped over the original conductors 51 and 52 and the returnedconductor 52, and is there adhered by heat shrinking, for example.Sleeve 4 58 is made long enough to reach to a point opposite theearphone 70 of FIGURE 1 and the returned conductor 52 is allowed toextend a suitable distance beyond the lower end of sleeve 58. Theextreme end of returned conductor 52 is serviced as above described, andthe shield 55' and the inner wire 57' are used to connect to theterminals of earphone 70'.

The upper end of conductor 51 is trained between the pins 41, throughthe central channel 40 of anchor block 37, between the pins 41 at theopposite end of the headband and, thence to the earphone 70. At thispoint the shield 55 of conductor 51 becomes one terminal for earphone 70and inner wire 57 becomes the other.

The cord set 66 of FIGURES 2 and 8 is rovided for use with headphonesequipped with an attached microphone. The fabrication and use of thecord set 60 observes the same general concepts set forth above withcertain obvious exceptions. Cord set 60 comprises three conductors andthree shields in a common rip-cord cable. The conductors are 61 for theearphone of FIGURE 8, 62 for the earphone 70' and 63 for the microphone99. All three conductors are serviced at their lower ends for connectionto ancillary sound equipment, not shown. The shield and the inner wireof each conductor afford the two points for making contact to therespective conductors as described above.

Conductor 61 extends from its lower end to the right end of theheadband, between pins 41, through the central channel 40 of anchorblock 37, between the pins 41 at the left end of the headband, andthence to the ear phone 70.

Conductor 62 extends from its lower end to the right end of theheadband, around the outside of the lowermost of the pins 41, thenceback along to lay parallel with the main portion of cord 60. Conductor63, after reaching the uppermost pin 41, is returned around pin 41 andback to lay parallel along the main portion of cord 60. A thinwalledplastic sleeve 68 is shrunk over the original conductors 61, 62 and 63and the returned conductors 62 and 63 to hold them all secured together.Sleeve 68 is made long enough to reach to a point about opposite theearphone 70' of FIGURE 2 and the returned conductors 62 and 63 areallowed to extend a distance beyond the lower end of sleeve 68 as shown.The conductor 62 is attached to the earphone 70' while the conductor 63is fed down thru the tubular boom 90 of the microphone 90 where it isconnected to the latter. The microphone boom 96' is attached to theouter back surface of earphone 70 by an adaptor clip 91 which is held inplace with locking screws to prevent unauthorized removal.

After threading either of the cord sets 50 or 60 into the headband ofthe invention as described above, the cover 32 of the headband assemblyis snapped in place over the main band 31. Thereupon, it will be foundthat the respective cord sets are securely anchored and held in place.The underside of the cover 32 will bear downwardly against the tops ofpins 41 and prevent the cords from disengaging therefrom. The loopsformed in conductors 52 or in 62 and 63 prevent end pull on the cord setfrom dislodging the same endwise and the sleeve 58 or 68 serves tosecure the several conductors in a single protected cable. The outwardlyextending tongue 36 closes the open underside of cover 32 by resilientlyhinging upwardly toward the sleeve 58 or 68.

In order to realize certain other of the advantages of the presentinvention it is preferred that the termination of the conductors 51 and52 of FIGURE 7; and the conductors 61 and 62 of FIGURE 8; be made to therespective earphones 70 and 70, by means of disengageable plugconnectors such as those shown at of FIGURES 1 and 2. It is alsocontemplated that the earphones 70 and 70' be securely threaded onto themetal arms 11 and 12 of the headband, by passing the straight reaches11' and 11" thereof upwardly through a pair of spaced closed tunnels 71formed in the back portions of the earphones 70 and 70'. Limited hingingmotion of the earphones 79 and 70 on the arms 11 and 12 may be affordedby shaping the tunnels 71 as shown in FIGURE 3, and frictionalpositioning of the earphones 70 and 70' may be afforded by inserting afiat leaf spring 72 in each of the tunnels 71 where it can bear againstthe smooth face of arms 11 and 12.

While the lower ends of the cord sets 50 of FIGURE 7 and 60 of FIGURE 8,are shown as having loose serviced conductors, it will be foundconvenient to terminate these conductors by attaching jack plugs in thefollowing manner. When the earphones 70 and 70' of either genus are tobe used for receiving only monaural intelligence, then the inner wiresof both earphone conductors (51 and 52 or 61 and 62) are connectedtogether to a common terminal and the shields of both conductors (51 and52 or 61 and 62) are connected together to a second terminal of theplug. When either set of phones are to be used for listening tostereophonic intelligence, where there is to be found a diiferent andseparate signal in each channel, then the shield and the inner wire ofeach conductor will be attached to a separate jack plug. In either casethe microphone conductor 63 is always kept separate from either earphoneconductor or plug. Where considerations of economy are important, itwill be evident that one of the earphones may be eliminated from theheadset of the invention and replaced by a suitable pad for wearercomfort. In this case a simpler cable can also be used.

There has thus been disclosed an improved and novel assembly of headbandand cord sets for headphone use, which achieves the objects initiallyset forth. The headband and cushion assembly is arranged from a singlegroup of parts, i.e., a pair of identical metal arms 11 and 12, a mainband 31, a cover 32, a cushion 33 and an anchor clip 45. When assembledas contemplated the headband can accommodate interchangeably a monauralcord set or a stereo cord set both, either with or Without a microphoneconductor. This flexibility permits use in language laboratories, inamateur radio or in home listening. The substantially enclosed conditionof the cord set when it is locked into the band 31 and cover 32 whenthey are snapped together, and the locked-on condition of earphones 70and 76 when the metal arms 11 and 12 are locked together by the anchorclip 45, precludes any likelihood of unauthorized tampering with theseveral parts of the assembly. Band 31 and cover 32 snap together quitetightly and cannot normally be taken apart except by someone who isinstructed in such methods of service assembly and disassembly.

The headset of FIGURE 1, may be readily altered by dismantling theheadband, unplugging and removing the cord set 50, replacing it with thecord set 60 including its microphone 90, reconnecting the earphone plugs75, and by reassembling the headband. Conversion of conductorconnections from monaural to stereo may be made by simply reconnectingthe lower ends of cord sets 50 or 6'0. In this manner microphones may beadded to headsets which were initially installed without them orheadsets of any style can be repaired by service people by thereplacement of one or several damaged components each as earphones 76 or70, cord sets 50 or 60, or microphone 90. No soldering or splicingoperations are required in any of these assembly or replacementoperations outside of the original manufacturing. It is contemplatedthat the manufacturer will supply separate earphones for use inreplacing those damaged in service. Likewise complete cord sets will befactory assembled, either as a completely fabricated and serviced cordset 50 for phone use only; or, as a complete cord set 60, including theattached microphone 96 for use in converting existing phone sets.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a headband assembly for headphones, a pair of curved U-shaped sidebands disposed With their closed ends spaced from each other and theiropen ends in confronting relation, an earphone captively and slidablyengaged on each of said bands, a curved cushion assembly underlying thejuncture of said bands, a grooved boss on the upper side of said cushionassembly for receiving and disengageably locking said bands to eachother and to said boss, a metal clip anchoring said bands on said boss,

lural conductor means anchored adjacent said boss and extending to saidearphones, and a cover over the outer surface of said cushion assembly,said cover including means to maintain said bands locked, to maintainanchorage of said conductors and to securely attach to said cushionassembly.

2. In a headband assembly for headphones, a pair of curved U-shaped sidebands disposed with their closed ends spaced from each other and theiropen ends in endto-end confronting relation, a head cushion assemblyreceiving said open ends and holding them releasably se cured, anearphone slidably received over each of said bands, conductor anchoringpins on said cushion assembly, conductors anchored to said pins andconnected to said earphones, and a cover releasably snapped over saidcushion assembly to retain said bands and said con ductors.

3. A cushion and cover for headphones comprising a curved plastic mainband having a raised locking boss and a plurality of conductor lockingpins formed on its upper surface, a foamed elastomer cushion attached tothe underside of said main band, a plastic outer cover disengageablysnapped over said main band, a U-shaped earphone support band locked tosaid boss and conductor wires anchored to said pins, said wiresextending outwardly from said pins along said support band.

4. A tamper-proof headband assembly for headphones comprising incombination, a pair of opposite earphone retaining U-shaped bands havingtheir open ends facing each other, a plastic head strip underlying saidends and holding them in aligned position, a locking clip securing theends of said bands to each other and to said strip, pin means on saidstrip to engage and secure a bight in an electric conductor, a coversnapped over said strip to secure said clip to said strip and said bightto said pin means to prevent the disassembly of said bands or saidconductor from said strip.

5. A convertible headband assembly for headphones comprising a plastichead strip having a raised boss and raised pins formed thereon, openended U-shaped side Wire loops having their open ends secured in slotswithin said boss, a metal clip anchoring said open ends to each otherand to said boss, earphones slideably secured on said loops, a snap-oncover overlying said head strip and securing a conductor over said pins,and means for removing said cover to disengage said conductor from saidpins for replacement of said conductor and for the replacement of saidearphones.

6. In a carrier assembly for audio members such as headphones,microphones and the like, a headband, a pair of flexible side bands, atleast one of which supports an audio member, said side bands having endsin opposed adjoining relationship overlaying an intermediate portion ofsaid headband, and a removable locking device engaging said intermediateportion and holding said ends assembled with said headband and againstrelative movement.

7. The construction of claim 6 wherein a boss is formed on said headbandat said intermediate portion and said locking device frictionallyengages said boss.

8. The construction of claim 7 wherein said boss has slots respectivelyreceiving said side band ends, the latter having grooves in their edgemargins, and wherein said locking device is a clip which fits over saidboss and has portions seating within said band grooves.

9. In a carrier assembly for audio members such as headphones,microphones and the like, an elongated headband, flexible side bandscarried by and extending from opposite ends of said headband, an audiomember supported on one of said side bands and having at least oneconductor extending therefrom, said headband having anchoring meansadjacent to that end from which said one side band extends, and meansanchoring said conductor to said anchoring means.

10. The construction of claim 9 wherein said anchoring means comprises apin carried by and extending laterally from said headband, and saidconductor has a looped portion through which said pin extends.

Referenees Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS KATHLEEN H.CLAFFY, Primary Examiner. WILLIAM C. COOPER, Examiner.

1. IN A HEADBAND ASSEMBLY FOR HEADPHONES, A PAIR OF CURVED U-SHAPED SIDEBANDS DISPOSED WITH THEIR CLOSED ENDS SPACED FROM EACH OTHER AND THEIROPEN ENDS IN CONFRONTING RELATION, AN EARPHONE CAPTIVELY AND SLIDABLYENGAGED ON EACH OF SAID BANDS, A CURVED CUSHION ASSEMBLY UNDERLYING THEJUNCTURE OF SAID BANDS, A GROOVED BOSS ON THE UPPER SIDE OF SAID CUSHIONASSEMBLY FOR RECEIVING AND DISENGAGEABLY LOCKING SAID BANDS TO EACHOTHER AND TO SAID BOSS, A METAL CLIP ANCHORING SAID BANDS ON SAID BOSS,PLURAL CONDUCTOR MEANS ANCHORED ADJACENT SAID BOSS AND EXTENDING TO SAIDEARPHONES, AND A COVER OVER THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID CUSHION ASSEMBLY,SAID COVER INCLUDING MEANS TO MAINTAIN SAID BANDS LOCKED, TO MAINTAINANCHORAGE OF SAID CONDUCTORS AND TO SECURELY ATTACH TO SAID CUSHIONASSEMBLY.